Toilet-paper-holder attachment



Oct. 21 ,1924.

- J-- B. ISHAM TOILET PAPER HOLDER ATTACHMENT Fil ed May 15,

' Fl E.

Ma am, ATTQMEYJ Patented Get. 21, 1924.

TOILETPAPER HOLDER ATTACHMENT.

Application filed May 15,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. ISHAM, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Hampden, in the county of Hampden and Stateof Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Toilet-Paper- HolderAttachment, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in devices used in connection withrolls of paper from which the paper is torn off in sheets or lengths andconsists essentially of a pivotally mounted, gravity frame having apartthat may be either fixed or rotative to rest and bear on a roll ofpaper, which frame is perforated, slotted, or recessed for the passageof the paper from such roll, and provided with a knife or bladeagainst'one edge of which such paper is torn off, all as hereinafter setforth.

This device or attachment may be either incorporated directly with aholder of any common or ordinary type for roll-toilet pa per, by beingpivotally connected with such holder, or pivotally supported from a walladjacent to such a holder.

Although my attachment is intended especially for use in connection withtoilet paper, it may he used in connectionwith wrapping or other paperwhich is supplied in roll formation and designed to be drawn off anddetached in sheets or lengths.

In most forms of holders for roll-toilet paper the roll is looselysupported in the holder, and both hands are required in order toseparate the sheets or tear pieces therefrom, and this regardless as towhether or not the paper he perforated, one hand being employed inholding the roll stationary while the other hand is engaged in tearingoi? the sheet or piece, and the primary object of my invention is toobviate this diiliculty and enable the tearing-off operationto beperformed with one hand only.

Another object is to provide an attachment of this character which iscomparatively simple and inexpensive in construction, affordssatisfactory means for severing the paper, and withal is highlypracticable and efiicient.

With this attachment the very act of severing the paper causes the paperroll to be securely held against rotation, so there can be no slippingof the paper strip, or other interference with the severing act.

- Other objects and advantages Will ap- 1923. Serial No. 639,123.

pear in the course of the following description. I i I I attaintheobjects' and secure the advantages of m invention by the meansillustrated in t e accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a sideelevation of a roll-toilet paper holder that is equipped with an attachment which embodiesa practical form of -my invention, the upperportion of said holder and said attachment being in "section; Fig. 2, atop plan of said attachment and holder; Fig. 3, a front elevation of theattachment when the same is a separate and distinct unit apart from theholder, said at tachment being raised, and a fragmentary portion of aholder being shown below the same; Fig. 4, a side elevation and partialsection of the parts and members shown in the preceding view, and Fig.5, a top plan of a portion of an'attachment wherein a roller issubstituted for the-fixed cross piece of the attachments illustrated inthe other views.

Similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout theseveral views. In each of the'first four views, a fragn'ientary portionof a wall is represented at l. In'Figs. ,1 and 2, a toilet-paper holderis represented, the same comprising aback 2 which is secured to the Wall1 by screws, such as that represented at 3, and a pair of arm 4:extending forwardly from said back and having in each a slot 5. The slot5 in each arm 4 opens through the upper edge of Sflld arm, and 1sprovided to recelve one terminal of a spindle 6 that passes through acore 7 for a roll 8 of toilet paper. This is one of the simpler'types ofroll-toilet-paper holders.

The holder just described, and to which my attachmentis applied, is butone of many types with'which the attachment 'may be used. e M p l ,Theback 2'is extended upwardly and rolled over to form a central bearing 9.

InFigs. Sand 4; the upper portionof' a roll-toilet-paper holder back isrepresented at 10, the same being secured to thewalll by screws 3, as inthe other example. This back has no bearing like'the bearing 9 withwhich the back 2 is equipped, but' in place of such a bearing a clip 11is provided, the same being looped to form abearing 12.

The clip 11 is secured against the wall 1 above the back'10 by means ofanother screw 3. The bearing 12 corresponds with the bearing 9 and isfor a similar purpose, as will hereinafter be clearly apparent.

The attachment itself as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 1, inclusive,consists of a i'ectangu lar frame 13 having therein a transverse slot 14and a large opening 15, and provided at ,the rear edge with a rolledpart 16 to form a pivotal connection with either the bearing 9 or thebearing 12', atthe forward edge with a severing blade 17, and betweensaid slot and opening with a eross'piece 18. Preferablythe under. sideof the cross piece 18 is .conveigand thefront edge of the blade 1 piece18 merely for the purpose of improving the appearance or the device andrendering the manipulation of the same more convenient. The device couldbe I successfully operated and wouldprobably serve all practicalpurposes, if the aforesaid opening were not present therein. It: isnecessary, howcver,rthat there be the cross piece 18 or an equivalentpart to bearon the paper roll 8,

and to follow downwardly on said roll as the same diminishes in size,incidental to the withdrawin-g of thejpaper "therefi'om,'until 7 saidcross piece rests on the core 7. To these ends the parts must beconstructed and proportioned, paying particular attention to thelocation of the cross piece 18, The arrangement and construction shouldbe such that the are described by the cross piece, when the frame 13 isswung on its pivotal connection, passes throughthe core 7, so that saidcross pie'ce finally comes to rest'on core, It is this cross piece thatholds the roll 8 stationary while the paper is being torn off, as willbe more fully explained hereinafter.

The slot 14: is necessary in order that the paper may, asis necessary,be passed upwardlyfrom beneath the cross piece 18 throughsaid slot-andover the blade 17 and the severing edge 19 thereof Being loosely pivotedat the back end,-the frame 13 has a constant tendency to swingdownwardly by gravity, and the practicability and efficiency of theattachment are due largely to such tendency.

The practical functioning of the attachment is described as follows, andthis whether said attachment be connected directly with thetoilet-paperholder, or 'directly with the wall above such holder, aswhen the clip 12 is used. v I

First, inorder to place the roll 8 in poroll sition in the holder, it isnecessary to swing the frame 13 upwardly on and in its pivotalconnections (9 and 16 or 9 and 12), thus leaving the space above thearms 1 clear for the introduction of said roll and the core 7 betweensaid arms with the terminals of the supporting spindle 6 in the notchesAfter the spindle 6 has been mounted in the arms 4, the frame 18 isswung downwardly until the cross piece 18 comes to rest on the roll 8.Then the leading end of the paper strip, as 20, from the roll 8, ispassed upwardly througlrthe slot 14% and forwardly over the v olade 17,being left k dition and ready for use, in order toremove the first orleading sheet or length of paper from the roll 8, simply grasp theleading end of the strip 20, below the severing edge '19, draw saidstrip forwardly oroutlvardly in an approximately horizontal positionuntil the required length passes over said ,Iedg'e,

carry said leading end downwardly into a position which is approximatelyvertical, and with a shearing movement tear the same on said severingedge from the strip behind. The downward pressure incident to theabove-described tearing-off action and appl'ed to the frame 13 forcesthe cross-piece 18 hard against the roll 8 and prevents said fromrotating during said tearing-off action. To obtain the second sheet orlength ofv paper, apply the fingers to the leading end of the paperstrip which is now resting on the blade 17, draw said strip forward thenecessary distance or until the required length is in front of thesevering edge 19, andthen tear off such length in the same manner asbefore. These operations are repeated until the roll 8 is exhausted andthe ross piece 18 rests on the core 7, when the E 7 frame 13 isagainelevated, the spindle 6 and core 7 are removed from the holder, a freshroll is slipped, onto said core, the latter with the new roll isplacedin positionin said holder, he strip from said i new roll is threadedthrough said frame, and the frame is swung down, until said cross piecerests on said last-named roll.

lVhen the frame 13 is swung upwardly and downwardly, the roll or pivot16- partially rotates or rocks in either the bearing 9 or i the bearing12, as the case may be.

if desired aroller may be substituted for the cross piece 18, as. shownin. Fig; 5. The

roller 21 is mounted on ands'ec'u'red to a spindle 22,, and preferablysaid spindle is provided at one end witha knob The spindle is journaledin the frame 13. The frame 13 in the present case is provided at thelongitudinal edges on the top with flanges 24:-24', and these flangesafford bearings for the spindle 22. The knob 23 is outside of theright-hand flange 24. The frame 13 here has therein a large openingwhich is divided by the roller 21 into narrow and wide open spaces and26 corresponding respectively to the slot 14 and opening 15 previouslydescribed. The space 26 is of no more importance than is the opening 15,except that it affords clearancefor the roller 21.

Although the roller 21 offers no resistance, like the cross piece 18 tothe paper when the latter is drawn off of the roll 8, since said rollerrotates under the influence of said paper, this may not be an importantadvantage, but, in the event the paper be torn off back of the severingedge 19, so that it is not convenient to grasp the leading end to drawit forward for the next sheet or length, said roller 21 can be used toadvantage. In such event the knob 23 is grasped and turned in thedirection to cause the roller 21 to actuate the paper forward over thesevering edge 19, or into position on the blade 17, when said paper canbe grasped without difiiculty. When the pa per is torn off, the roller21 is forced hard against the roll 8 and holds the same againstrotation, practically the same as does the cross piece 18. Otherwise theframe equipped with the roller functions in a similar manner as does theframe provided with the cross piece.

More or less change in the shape, size, and construction of thisattachment, in addition to those hereinbefore specifically pointed out,may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention orexceeding the scope of what is claimed.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. As an improved article of manufacture, an attachment, of the classdescribed, comprising a frame having a transverse member adapted to reston a paper roll, and a serveringblade at the front end, for the paperfrom such roll, with an opening in said frame between said transversememher and said blade, for the passage of such ing such that the pull onthe paper to sever the same on said blade causes said frame to rockdownwardly on its pivot and said transverse member to bear on the rolland serve as a brake therefor.

2. The combination, in an attachment of the class described, with amember adapted to be attached to a wall, and rolled over at the top toform pivotal means, of a frame rolled over at the rear end'to formpivotal means adapted to be engaged with said first named pivotal means,and slotted for the passage of the paper from a roll below, said framehaving a transverse member behind the slot therein to rest on such roll,and a severing blade in front of said slot, for such paper after itpasses through said slot, the construction and arrangement of partsbeing such that the pull on the paper to sever the same on said bladecauses said frame to rock downwardly on said pivotalmeans and saidtransverse member to bear on the roll and serve as a brake therefor.

3. As an improved article of manufacture, an attachment, of the classdescribed,

pull on the paper to sever the same on said blade causes said frame torock downward ly on said pivotal means and said cross piece to bear onthe roll and serve as a brake therefor.

, JOHN B. ISHAM. Witnesses F. A. CUTTER, R. E. ALLBEE.

